Cold turkey is a phrase I got to know while reading Shantaram, it is basically this phase when one tries to get rid of one's addiction. The addiction in question is usually of a grave nature like for drugs et al. Thus the efforts required to get off the addiction are intense and usually require complete cut off from the drug or the substance in question. This phase of complete refrain is called as Cold turkey. What is termed as the toughest stage in the recovery from substance abuse, Cold turkey may be called by the name due to the numbness and shivers experienced by the addict in the recovery as the body and mind still in habit of the drug completely lose it when they are not provided with the supply. But Google and Wiki may beg to differ. But as much as what I have learned while reading and watching movies like Trainspotting and Basketball diaries is that restlessness and the desperation suffered is the origin of the phrase. Looking back at the movies, I have mentioned basketball diaries here earlier as well and Trainspotting is this weird short story turned into a movie which is good one time watch.
We all have our own- days of cold turkey, when we are in a way addicted to some thing not necessarily drug but anything from a gadget to a habit to food to internet for that matter(to particular sites, if I may say so which may help hone our sociability quotient) and the addiction does not seem unhealthy at first. It is pretty funny thinking about getting rid of these plain little addictions of our daily life that keep on weeding on our daily routine. There comes a time when you realize how big these things in your life are and how difficult it is to get rid of them. Detachment is the first step and then is the battle against the urge, which as mentioned is detrimental. Perhaps the only leeway there with respect to drugs is the fact that we don't have to stop with our addiction at once, we can perhaps phase it out or moderate it by our ways and conviction. But as they say Old habits, die hard, one relapse or give in to the urge and we are back to scratch. The stigma with drug and other substances is what makes us look at it differently although the fact remains that any addiction is as grave as another, as is the cold turkey related with it.
We all have our own- days of cold turkey, when we are in a way addicted to some thing not necessarily drug but anything from a gadget to a habit to food to internet for that matter(to particular sites, if I may say so which may help hone our sociability quotient) and the addiction does not seem unhealthy at first. It is pretty funny thinking about getting rid of these plain little addictions of our daily life that keep on weeding on our daily routine. There comes a time when you realize how big these things in your life are and how difficult it is to get rid of them. Detachment is the first step and then is the battle against the urge, which as mentioned is detrimental. Perhaps the only leeway there with respect to drugs is the fact that we don't have to stop with our addiction at once, we can perhaps phase it out or moderate it by our ways and conviction. But as they say Old habits, die hard, one relapse or give in to the urge and we are back to scratch. The stigma with drug and other substances is what makes us look at it differently although the fact remains that any addiction is as grave as another, as is the cold turkey related with it.
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